We had a grand time in Rome, and now we’ve moved on to Dublin, Ireland for the summer. We’re in the Liberties, a central district and very old, just south of the Liffey river, which is home to the Guinness brewery and very close to Christ Church Cathedral, though we’re not sure if that’s actually in our ‘hood. The Liberties is (are?) an old Viking stronghold, slowly transitioning toward gentrification. There are lots of pubs and restaurants, and a few coffee shops, along with many apartment buildings like ours. These tend to be the kinds of neighbourhoods we mostly live in, as investment properties are cheaper. And incidentally, ‘Liberties’ refers to the fact that this area preserved its own jurisdiction despite being formally part of the city. You know, street justice…
The flat is in a building that looks to date to from about the 1970s, with a car park in the middle. We’re on the first (= US second) floor, and there are two main gates into the complex. Each of these, and our building itself, has its own separate key code. Which is great for memory practice! Like our previous flat, this one is small (that’s what you get for living in the middle of everything). It’s rather different, though: there are many more things in it. We can’t actually tell if it’s smaller or just more crowded. But we like the things; they make the place feel like an actual home. There’s a colour scheme too – bathroom, bedroom and kitchen have hints of blue, and sitting room is purple. It helps to unify things and define the space.
Kitchen and Bath
The kitchen is a galley, but surprisingly well-appointed. There was, shockingly, no teapot, so our very first trip out was to get one. We are both able to work in the kitchen, though only if we stay in one place; it’s not wide enough for two to pass. The hot water and the cold come out of the same faucet, but in different areas, which reminds us of old-school dual-faucet kitchen sinks. There’s a small fridge, nice stovetop and oven, above-average storage space. Knives are sharp enough, pots and pans the right sizes. And the mugs, bless their hearts, are big enough for a nice cuppa. We had already sworn to ourselves that Dublin was going to be the place where we ate a lot of salads, so we’re delighted by the salad spinner, which makes all of the lettuce-ry so much easier.
The bathroom has a bathtub, which we always like the idea of, though we rarely use them. There’s a special ‘booster’ to increase the water pressure in the shower, which tells you everything you need to know about the water pressure in the shower. And the water heats itself up overnight, so morning showers are very warm indeed. We have yet to discover what happens at night. It doesn’t look as though we’ll run out of hot water, though.
Sleeping and Living
Windows in both sitting room and bedroom make the place feel bright. There’s more closet and drawer space than we need, and we’ve already moved the bed to give better access to the far side (this picture is the ‘before’). And we are grateful for the nightstands, which there are two of, with multiple drawers!
Miraculously, the bed is comfortable and so is the sofa. Unlike in some flats, they are placed so that you can see the TV from them. We don’t watch a lot of TV unless we’re trying to work on the language [which might happen in Ireland – we sometimes struggle to intuit meaning!], but we do watch movies sometimes. There’s even a reclining chair with a footstool. The whole room feels very cosy and we can easily imagine finally getting through Ulysses while sitting in it. (On which more soon – stay tuned for Bloomsday 2023!)
Best of all – at least when the weather is fine, as no doubt it soon will be – is the wee balcony, perfect for morning tea and perhaps even meals and reading. So pleased are we with the outdoor space that we’ve even bought a few herbs in puts to liven up the space (and our cooking).
So there you have it, our Dublin home for the next few months!
